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User blog:Leolab/Visual Novel Review - Coμ -Black Dragon in a Gentle Kingdom-
Not sure why I specified last time that the VN was "older," 'cause that's going to basically be all the games. The joys of getting things in batches. Without further ado, this time I'll be reviewing Coμ -Black Dragon in a Gentle Kingdom-; I'll be typing both the title and the in-game term as "Comyu" from now on, because that's just easier. Released in 2009 in Japan, the English community only got a fan translation in 2014. Route List *Benio Takekawa (Forced first) *Hisoka Soejima *Mayuki Yuubana *Enishi Ayaya *Kagome Hinaori (Forced last) Story The basic story is that the main character, Akihito, is a student at a local high school. He lives alone in his apartment, and his childhood friend, Kagome, lives next door. He's also nihilistic, and she's some sort of supernatural assassin. He gets thrown into a Comyu - a group of five people who can control a massive steel construct known as Avatars - while she just kind of hangs out with them as an observer. All routes contain themes of power, death, isolation, and society, all of which are the driving forces behind each route. The actual story itself isn't anything special or new, but what makes it refreshing is how it treats its characters. Akihito is competent, but not omnipotent. He's less of a Yuuji and more of a Yamato in this regard; he definitely contributes, but he's also not the best frontline fighter even on the protagonist's side. His nihilism contributes to the bleak atmosphere of the story, but it's also not overly hopeless. The "work together or you die together" justification for keeping everyone in the same group is trite and cliche, but also feeds into all the major themes of the VN. Ultimately, the story is average and competently told. Character motivations are usually made clear in one of the routes, and the story never hides anything enough for the attempts at twists to actually be twists for the reader. Its biggest pitfall is that it tries to be overly philosophical, which leads to some real chuuni shit. Story Content: 6/10 Storytelling: 6.5/10 Total: 12.5/20 Production The production values are, well, average. The art is good, but nothing special. There's no fancy animation, with the exception of small cut-ins that don't actually add anything. The voices are well-done, but also not exceptional. The music is, again, good but not noteworthy. Overall, the general production of Comyu feels like someone tried to pitch Standard JRPG #5283 and assumed success but got shot down, and turned the assets they already had into a VN that is solidly average. Art: 6/10 Sound: 6/10 Total: 12/20 Characters Main Characters Every girl who gets a sex scene exemplifies some trait Akihito finds important. Kagome is survival, Benio is justice, Hisoka is the past, Mayuki is escape, Ayaya is normalcy, Haru Kusakabe is freedom, Rondo Rondo is rebellion, Yoruko Shinomiya is loyalty, and Tori Hasekura is death. Which of these Akihito hooks up with defines what qualities come to the forefront for him in each route. The main character conflict for Akihito is justice and survival, and accordingly the main triangle is Benio--Akihito-Kagome. The VN sides with survival, as not only is Kagome the "true" end, but even in her route Benio never gets to be the most important person to Akihito; further, Kagome is always important to Akihito, while Benio gets tossed by the wayside in some routes. Beyond this, every single character has a clearly identifiable relationship with every other character, relationships which grow naturally out of their traits. The story's attempt to focus on both drama and humor brings out both the best and worst in its diverse cast, and every interaction is either gripping or hilarious. This only really applies to the main characters, however, which is the five people in Akihito's Comyu plus Kagome. The other characters, which includes two route heroines, feel incomplete as a result. Side Characters The side characters are entertaining, but fairly one-note. This goes for the villains, as well. Everyone outside the main group is a flat character, but their traits are frequently larger-than-life and so are rarely boring. The sole exceptions to this are Kururi Semimaru and Yoriko Shinomiya, both of whom actually have character arcs and development, though Kururi's is less noticeable because she's already fairly developed when the story starts. Heroes: 4/5 Villains: 2/5 Side Characters: 6/10 Total: 12/20 Conclusion Comyu is entertaining, with a solid grasp of humor and a good sense for drama. It's a solidly average ride; if you like VNs as a genre, you;ll probably find something to appreciate here. Its major flaw, though, is that it just plain feels like a JRPG shoved into a VN format. *Best Girl: Mayuki Yuubana/Kagome Hinaori (Tie) *Worst Girl: Hisoka Soejima *Best Route: Kagome Hinaori *Worst Route: Hisoka Soejima *Best Overall Character: Kururi Semimaru *Worst Overall Character: Haru Kusakabe *Best Track: Do Whatever It Takes! Category:Blog posts Category:Reviews Category:2019 Reviews Category:Visual Novel Reviews